shbon

You need to set Map Keys = YES in the EMUs config section Shaun

Hi Tom Just did an upgrade from 6.53 to 6.62. Thanks for the greater loading /exiting speed and album by artist. Superb! Found a few bugs in the menuing, though...(I use a basic V1 theme) 1. When I launch gameex it doesn't show my emulators (SNES, Playstation etc) in the main startup menu. If I drill down one level and come back up they appear. Just not on startup? 2. The emulator games list menu appears to be corrupted. It shows the games but includes additional items from the startup menu, alphabetised into the list? You can only select the first n entries (where n is the rom count) in the expanded list. I think a buffer needs clearing somewhere... 3. In my pinball emulation section, I'm using a customised MAP file to specify proper names for the VPinball tables. This is showing correctly in the list, but the last played list that's been added to the top DOESN'T USE THIS FILE, it shows the original raw names. 4. Is there going to be an option to TURN OFF the new start menu item resizing animation. Personally I think it was better being uniform as in previous versions? 6.53 was pretty much perfect for my cab, but the latest version has some useful additional bits, assuming the above can be tweaked! Thanks Shaun

Didn't realise that. Raise it with Tom, I suppose, if it's a deal breaker for you...

Viper It is possible... First of all though, you aren't opening the same game each time! In the emulator configuration section: set Remove Text In Brackets to NO. When you reload GameEx you'll see 5 different rom versions of "3 ninjas kick back", this time followed by bracketed text. The bracketed text is versioning information. This can be quite complex in nature and standards seem to vary for different consoles. You'll need to do a bit of research to dig up what the bracketed text is telling you exactly... To start you off: For SNES, I think the ones that end (U) are the official US releases. For NES, I think the ones that have (!) on the end are 'official'. (Perhaps somebody could correct me if I'm wrong or give a link in the full info...) Aswell as the 'official' versions you'll see loads of 'hacks' and other regional language versions etc. You may be interested in playing these alternatives of course. But if you're not... Luckily (although not surprisingly given the quality of this software) Tom has implemented some PATTERN MATCHING on his ROM Filter field in the emulator configuration. So INSTEAD OF *.zip for the SNES ROM filter you could specify *(U).zip and this would EXCLUDE any roms that DIDN'T end "(U).zip". i.e. You'd just get a list of official US releases! You can combine filters (separated by a semi-colon), so *(U).zip;*(J).zip might give official US and Japan versions. Although not completely foolproof (as some games might only have a (Hack) version) you could cut down your list considerably...You'd need to experiment to get a list that suits you. Note: There might also be other pattern matching symbols (E.g. %#) that are also not documented either. I don't know. Hope that helps to slim your list! Shaun

It works, as I've described and implemented it above... but I've frozen my cab at version 6.53 for the time being. Not sure about the default L_ALT+Up/Down when you're not using custominput.ini... Is that what you're saying is broken? Or just recently on the latest versions? Shaun

Thanks Emph, didn't know that. Useful!

Not sure if it's possible to turn off the letter feature, I don't think so...but it's only a minor inconvenience. You can use custominput.ini to do the pageup/pagedn thing. It's not quite implemented exactly as you want it, but would function equivalently. Do the following: 1. In the GameEx\CONFIG directory, edit custominiput.ini and set a scancode for Shift1_Paging. See scancodes.txt in the same direcory for scancode translation. 2. Enable custom keyboard controls via the config app. (Input section) Then when you run GameEx: By pressing AND HOLDING the key you've set for the Shift1_Paging scancode, you can use the JOYSTICK to pageup and pagedown. I've included my custominput.ini (keyboard section) for reference: [KEYBOARD] #Scan Code Number # See Scancodes.txt for a list of Scan Codes specific to your system. # If file not there, run GameEx. #Changed values: 29=LeftControl:56=LeftAlt:57=SPACE:42=LeftShift:1=Esc:30=A:31=S:6=6 (Coin2) Select=29 Back=56 Shift1_Paging=57 Shift2_Volume=6 Up=200 Down=208 Left=203 Right=205 PrevTrack=30 NextTrack=31 Home=1 So for my IPAC setup, I hold down 1SW3 (Mame SPACE) to pageup and pagedown using the joystick. You'll notice that you can do the same thing for GameEx's volume control. Mine's set to Coin2 (6). One thing to note, if you enable custom input then ALL codes are enabled. So you'll see I also have 1SW1 = Select, 1SW2 = Back, 1SW8 (programmed to the Esc key) = Home. These OVERIDE the default GameEx Enter=Select, Backspace=Back, Home=Home. So you need to reconfigure ALL entries of custominput.ini to match your particular setup. Shaun

Right. Time for some quick snaps of my baby! It's neeeeaaaarly finished, just a screen bezel to make and hide the computer ON switch (visible in some of the images!)... but I've waited long enough, so for now I'm playing games... I'm getting my Galaxian back up to scratch. My MAME record is currently 143,000. My 1980's arcade best was about 255,000. So still some more work to do. (Watch out Gary Whelan...) The cocktail cab is based roughly on a Ms. Pacman, but stands only 22.5 inches high and is a classy MDF black and chrome number with detachable control panels (connected via RJ45/CAT5 to the internal wiring). Currently sports my Defender panel in the horizontal position! Working on a Playstation / Console panel. May even try the analogue joysticks available at Ultimarc. Also planning a vertical spinner panel for Arkanoid, Tempest etc. Computer is just built with second-hand parts (no case) and is a medium spec P4-2.4Ghz with a reasonable graphics card. Fast enough for MAME and GameEx. I've got a hidden cable underneath for attaching a USB hub for keyboard/mouse and internet connection as needed. I went for a Diamondtron 19" (flat) CRT instead of arcade monitor so as to cater better for Pinball and GameEx, which I'm running at 1280x1024 with good results. MAME with 75% scan-lines is real enough for me. Thanks to everybody on the forum who's helped me and inspired me over the past few months and a special thanks to Tom for the FE that raises the standard of all of our projects that little bit higher. Regards Shaun

I believe it's fixed, but you're right, it would be a useful feature. Assuming it isn't possible (maybe somebody will say it is!) you could add it to the Feature Request thread elsewhere in the forum. You CAN control the other emulator entries (SNES, Playstation etc.) to be in the order you want, by specifying your preferred first emulator as Emulator 1, second as Emulator 2 etc... Shaun

Hi Stuart and welcome. Here's what I do: 1. Let GameEx auto-download an image. Like you say, it uses GameEx\MEDIA\ALBUMS. 2. If the image is wrong or too low-res, google a higher res pic, download it, and use it to replace the existing image using the same filename. 3. If GameEx can't find an image (e.g. an obscure album), google a pic, download it and copy to the albums directory and rename it in the same format as the other entries. Shaun

I've seen the menu glitch aswell. For me it occured in the jukebox albums list. I'd could navigate up and down the list, but when I stopped navigating, it 'bounced back' to an album beginning with "A". A reboot cleared this problem aswell. As you say, it happens very rarely... Shaun

Headkaze Have you considered using something like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost for saving partition images. Once you've reinstalled your XP and programs and set it up sweetly, take a complete image of the HDD's partitions. (I have C: = OS, D: installed programs, E:F:G: Data etc...). Then you can refresh C:/D: from the partition image instead of reinstalling everything from scratch. Only takes about 10 mins per partition to back up. I have a couple of spare hard drives and quite frequently copy all the program partitions from my main drive to another HDD or onto DVD. So, I always have a full image backup of the OS and installed programs to slot in immediately if the main drive or XP pops! Regards Shaun

That may be a coincidence... I've seen this problem aswell. In my case it reported key detection 34:52 which I think indicates 4 has been pressed. It didn't matter what I had skip disclaimer set to, I couldn't get the screensaver to work (both versions 6.53 and 6.39 which I know had a working screensaver...). A reboot cured this problem for me and allowed sklip disclaimer to be left at YES. Tom: Don't think I had a sticky key as I checked with a keyboard tester program. May be a small problem with keyboard detection / corruption in keyboard buffer??? Shaun

Assume you mean the GameEx menus?... The TAB key toggles rotation through 90,-90 & 0 degrees. If you are planning to use GameEx at a monitor resolution greater than 800x600 (and presumably have a fast PC) you'll need to run GameEx 6.40 or above and manually edit the undocumented GameEx.ini setting: NoRotationRestrictions=True (If you can't find the entry, add it in the [GENERAL] section). Shaun

Thanks for the 2 updates Tom. TAB works a treat and I've coughed up again as promised! Noticed a couple of things on the new release 6.37/6.38: 1. Unless you have both CPEnabled=True & ShowGameInfoPage=True it won't launch any MAME game! (fails silently back to menu). If you have CPEnabled=False & ShowGameInfoPage=False it won't launch any MAME game until you launch another emulator's game (E.g SNES), then it works as expected for MAME games??? 2. Launching a MAME game (assuming you've set 1.) the menus crawl away very slowly (even on a P4). I can't remember this before?? If you launch another emulator's game (E.g SNES) the menus go away at the normal (fast) speed?? You might have 'tweaked' something the wrong way somewhere in this area... Regards Shaun

You could try Fusion - http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/sms/ -. This emulates all SEGA formats pretty well apparently. Setup seems straight forward. This test setup works fine for me: [Emulator_8] Enabled=True DumbyValue= STARTPAGENAME=SEGA Games TITLETEXT=SEGA Games StartPageLogo= ROMFilter= RomsInFolders= RomPath=D:\Program Files\Emulators\Fusion\Roms SnapPath= TitlePath= BoxPath= CartPath= WorkingPath=D:\Program Files\Emulators\Fusion\ MapKeys=True WaitBeforeKeys= SendKeys= ReplaceDash=True ReplaceUnder=True Capitals=True RemoveBrackets=True ShowDesktop=True Debug= MAPFile= AlsoLaunch= Command=fusion.exe "[ROMPath]\[RomFile]" OLDatZip= LaunchBefore= LaunchAfter= configFile= ExcludedFiles= CustomBackground= PlayMusic= PCGame= DATABASE= GamesIn7Zips= There is a Fusion config option for GG called GGZoom to show fullscreen. Hope this helps... Shaun

Have a look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default....sclasstopic.asp I think the brackets should be curly... Shaun

Run the GameEx configuration utility... First point: In Advanced MAME: Ingame CP View VK=76 (76 is "L") Set to something else (or blank?). VK list in GameEx\config\emulators\vkcodes.htm Second point: I think most of the key-presses work as documented (I can't vouch for DVD ones as I don't use them). Column 1 is standard keyboard, column 4 refers to MAME standard game keys. In Input Settings: Enable SlikStik and IPAC support = "YES" may help you I think... If you've remapped any MAME keys you'll need to translate column 4 to your stick / MAME configuration. If you want to change some of GameEx's key assignments: In Input Settings: Enable Custom Keyboard/Joystick controls = "YES" and press EDIT to change scancodes. Regards Shaun

Headkaze I want to use a screen resolution of 1280x1024 on a 3-sided cocktail cab project and rotation is probably my number one FE concern. GameEx doesn't officially support higher resolutions than 800x600 for screen rotations. This thread http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=1680 has been running for a while on the subject. I don't think Tom has managed to make the amendment to the Tab behaviour he suggested towards the end of the post, so in the meantime, I'm looking at alternatives... iRotate is a possible neat solution if your graphics card supports hardware driver rotations. Screen resolution decisions should ideally be independent from an application IMHO. Basically, I can't really use GameEx as I would like to in my cab project at the moment and have been pursuing a possibily painless solution for GameEx in this area... Regards Shaun

Just tried loading gunfight into my setup. Came up OK... Check your config again? Here's mine... OnlyWorking=True AllowImperfect=True VerifyRoms=False OnlyRoms=True NoGameInfo=True GameFilter=Hispanic;french;german GameFilterOn=True NoClones=True ExcludedMAMERoms=puckman;mrdo;gtg2; DoNotFilterROMS=galaxiaj;pacman;mrdofix;gtg2j;gunfight; I assume all your other games appear OK? Shaun

Hmmm, I thought setting DoNotFilterROMS=gunfight *would* override the other settings???... (Doesn't need the .zip part) Couple of things to consider: 1. I think gunfight doesn't have sound and according to MAME's listinfo.dat it has driver status="preliminary". This may fail both OnlyWorking and AllowImperfect conditions... 2. Have you got VerifyRoms=True? Shaun

I see the same as Mike. Although, I had assumed this was the expected behaviour?...

Hi I'm trying out iRotate ( http://www.entechtaiwan.net/util/irotate.shtm ) to provide hot-key screen rotation natively through my graphics card - a nVidia GeForce 6200. It seems to work well in Windows XP and MAME runs fine but unfortunately, GameEx crashes when I use the hot-key to change orientation. Any clues why? I can change orientation with the iRotate hot-key and then load GameEx no problem. Just not change orientation with GameEx loaded... Log file attached. Maybe GameEx is trying to redraw without realising screen orientation has changed?? Thanks Shaun log.txt

Until I stand corrected... I searched a while ago for this answer. I don't think there exists the global flag you're after. My conclusion was "set manually per game". There's probably only a handful you'll ever play anyway... The longer answer (you may not be interested...): I had a look at the <romname>.cfg files in MAME\cfg. A dipswitch change is recorded in this file but isn't standard between files as it relates to the dipswitch index, value and mask value. These are not standard across games. I also had a look at the source: Unfortunately, dipswitch information is very pertinent and unique to particular hardware and games. As such, in MAME, dipswitch defaults are hardcoded in the multitude of individual game source files and aren't recorded in a standard way. As such, it would appear to be hard work finding a way to programmatically change the particular dipswitch representing 'cocktail-mode' from 'upright' to 'cocktail' across applicable games. It might be possible to 'override' the dipswitch somewhere during MAME's drawing sequence, but again, this would be involved to say the least! Shaun

When I run a theme in 1280x1024 with the normal font size, there seems to be a disproportionate difference between the resulting font size when in vertical mode as opposed to horizontal mode. Attached are two screen shots to illustrate. Would it be possible to tweak something so that the font sizes approximately match in both modes? Thanks Shaun